Who is Terry Davis?

Author Terry Davis was born (in 1947) and raised in Spokane, Washington where his character and literary bent was shaped. The son of a housewife and a sales executive, Davis excelled at Shadle Park High School as a wrestler and basketball player, then went on to study English at Eastern Washington University where he met fellow student Chris Crutcher -- a year his senior.
Recognized early as a gifted writer, Davis went from Eastern to study under John Irving at the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, and later at Stanford University as an honored Wallace Stegner Literary Fellow. It was at Stanford that VISION QUEST took flight.
John Irving called VISION QUEST "the truest novel about growing up since 'The Catcher in the Rye.' " It was nominated for an American Book Award in 1981 (the American Book Awards were renamed the National Book Awards in 1987) and was named one of the Best of the Best YA novels by ALAN. Davis also wrote the YA classic IF ROCK AND ROLL WERE A MACHINE and a third more experimental novel called MYSTERIOUS WAYS.
Davis's short stories have been featured in RUSH HOUR, GUYS WRITE FOR GUYS READ and other literary publications. His latest short story appears in GIRL MEETS BOY, a 2012 release from Chronicle Books and editor Kelly Milner Halls.
His latest challenge is adapting excellent stories to screenplays for big screen production. Chris Crutcher's classic, WHALE TALK was among his first finished adaptations, with many others in progress.
Davis taught and coached wrestling at the high school level in Spokane, Washington and in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil before he went on to teach writing at East Carolina University. He then taught for more than a decade for the MFA program at Minnesota State University at Mankato, where he still teaches, adjunct. He is a powerful speaker and a craftsman who helped mentor Chris Crutcher, Terry Trueman, Alexandra LaFaye, Nick LaRusso and many other fine authors into the world of young adult literature.
Recognized early as a gifted writer, Davis went from Eastern to study under John Irving at the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, and later at Stanford University as an honored Wallace Stegner Literary Fellow. It was at Stanford that VISION QUEST took flight.
John Irving called VISION QUEST "the truest novel about growing up since 'The Catcher in the Rye.' " It was nominated for an American Book Award in 1981 (the American Book Awards were renamed the National Book Awards in 1987) and was named one of the Best of the Best YA novels by ALAN. Davis also wrote the YA classic IF ROCK AND ROLL WERE A MACHINE and a third more experimental novel called MYSTERIOUS WAYS.
Davis's short stories have been featured in RUSH HOUR, GUYS WRITE FOR GUYS READ and other literary publications. His latest short story appears in GIRL MEETS BOY, a 2012 release from Chronicle Books and editor Kelly Milner Halls.
His latest challenge is adapting excellent stories to screenplays for big screen production. Chris Crutcher's classic, WHALE TALK was among his first finished adaptations, with many others in progress.
Davis taught and coached wrestling at the high school level in Spokane, Washington and in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil before he went on to teach writing at East Carolina University. He then taught for more than a decade for the MFA program at Minnesota State University at Mankato, where he still teaches, adjunct. He is a powerful speaker and a craftsman who helped mentor Chris Crutcher, Terry Trueman, Alexandra LaFaye, Nick LaRusso and many other fine authors into the world of young adult literature.